An escrow service is a licensed and regulated company that collects, holds, and releases an asset according to instructions agreed upon by two transacting parties, such as a purchaser and a seller. The escrow service reduces fraud by acting as a trusted third party for the purchaser and the seller. For example, the escrow service handles real property such as retail, commercial and residential, and high-ticketed personal property such as jewelry, automobiles and boats. When the purchaser receives and approves the real property or the personal property from the seller, the escrow service releases the asset to the seller. However, prior art escrow service suffer from a number of shortcomings. Work products of professional services, such as program source codes, literary writings, and artistic designs, are not handled by the prior art escrow service.
The present invention addresses at least these limitations in the prior art.